Mominul Haque split the gap between point and short third man with a strong cut off Sikandar Raza that was immediately followed by a broad smile on his face, and why not? It was the fourth Test century for the 23-year-old who immediately dedicated the unbeaten 131-run knock to his younger sister Momo as her birthday gift.
“I had asked my younger sister what she wanted on her birthday. She told me ‘I do not need anything, please score a hundred.’ My sister is probably very happy now,” said Mominul at the post-day conference at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.
The calm and cautious batting approach of Mominul is making him break and equal records with every innings he bats in. The left-hander joined Everton Weekes, Alec Stewart, Matthew Hayden, Jacques Kallis, Simon Katich and Kumar Sangakkara in scoring more than nine consecutive Test fifties while he stands second to the legendary Sir Donald Bradman in terms of batting average.
His batting consistency and temperament has been an example for his struggling teammates in the last 12 months and his way of viewing situations is also something to learn for the restless cricketers in the middle.
Mominul, who completed his third hundred in Chittagong yesterday, is also the fourth batsman to have 11 fifties in 12 Tests after Sunil Gavaskar, Mark Taylor and Weekes.
“I did not make any technical changes. It was mostly tactical. I think about my batting when I am on my own, trying to overcome the areas that are not helping me. How am I getting out? It is not a lot of things that I think about. It is better to stay normal and take less pressure,” he said.
That lazy elegance in his batting, the sweetly-timed drives to pierce the cover fielders or the short-arm jabs through mid wicket – Mominul has already gained immense popularity with his batting but he is also aware of the responsibility that comes with his successes.
“When success comes to a player, the responsibility rises. Now there is expectation on me, and it is steadily rising. Sometimes it does not work if you are satisfied with what you have done. I do not know what others think,” he said before adding “nothing satisfies me, the more I get the more I want.”
Zimbabwe require another 378 runs on the final day on a pitch that has already produced over 1200 runs in four days. Mominul believes it will be challenging for them to bowl out the visitors and the first session will be pivotal.
“I think it might be challenging but at the same time, we have to give importance to the first session and particularly the first two hours. But there are a lot of rough areas on a fourth and fifth day pitch, as there usually are so it is the same here,” said Mominul.
